Euphoric Field
by Konekorew
Summary: "'She was the only one in her world; therefore, the girl was a God.'" Living alone in a colorless canvas, you eventually find your missing colors through the embodiment that is Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo. Reader-Insert. Antonio/Spain x Depressed! Reader.
1. Less Than Forty-Five Seconds

**Title:** Euphoric Field  
**Author:** Konekorew  
**Pairing:** Spain/Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo x Defensive/Angry/Depressed! Reader [A.K.A Angst]  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia or 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories'.  
**Note:** You do not have to know what 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories' is to read this story. All will still make sense, I assure you.

* * *

1. Less Than Forty-Five Seconds  
_...I didn't think there were bullies at this academy..._

You always knew somewhere in the back of your mind that there was a color missing from your world. There was a time when the picture frame held so many vibrant hues, saturated with an explosive palette. Life had been easier and happier for you; you never wanted those days to end. Now inside of your frame, everything was grayscale; second dimensional, blank.

You could never exactly tell when your life had become so silent but in the farthest part of your memories, you remember yourself fiddling about in your room like you always did when you heard a loud noise from the kitchen: the smashing of glass. You forced your body out of your room and towards the sound when you saw your guardians fighting, one of their hands covered in blood from smashing a window. It was the last sound you ever remember hearing in your world and the last color you ever bothered to see.

You were in high school now, a junior, and made a vow to yourself to never communicate with people. You only knew that letting someone into your colorless world, trying to let them fill it with vibrancy again, would only leave you with nothing. Your canvas would eventually just go blank white and even your own existence would be wiped from the rest of the world.

It was in early October when you arrived at Hetalia Academy. After a divorce agreement between your family members, it was insisted that you move schools. Since you had yet to buy a school uniform, a [color] tank top and a [second color] zip-up hoodie adorned your shoulders. The autumn wind tousled your [hair length] tresses as the hues of fire and brimstone surrounded you. However, living in your grayscale world, you ignored their color, just as you had the color of your clothing. Your [color] toned jeans wrinkled with you as you strode towards the building. You turned a blind eye to the weird stares you were getting from other people adorned in a uniform and obviously had never seen you before, pushing open the doors of the school as you made your way to the front office.

You hated the world and life so much, you couldn't even feel the warmth in your hands as you touched those sunlight covered doorknobs.

The conversation with the office secretary had undoubtedly been awkward. You barely said a word, maybe a mutter or two in reply, and the poor, busty woman- Ukrainian, if you could tell by her accent- was left to try and explain to you what was going on, fretting about. You adjusted your school bag, the only accessory to you body aside from clothing, as the woman gave you a schedule and a school map. _'Class 1-A'_, you mentally muttered and wandered about the halls as other students mingled or went off to other business before school started. To be honest, being in Class 1-A didn't come as a surprise to you. You were forced to try and keep your grades up to try and show your existence to your family; you still were forgotten, despite all of your hard work. Even so, you were glad to be in a class group divided from those impetuous morons that would annoy you for the rest of your school year.

You found your way upstairs and to your classroom flawlessly and happened to be ten minutes early. There were a few people inside but none turned their attention towards you as you stepped inside. You also noted that the teacher, female as well, hadn't noted your existence. Standing in front of her desk, you muttered a "Miss?" to capture her attention. She blinked up from her work, brushing hair away from her face and frowned. "Do you need something, child?"

You were used to this kind of simple formality so a stiff, ceremonial conversation was a break for you. All you had to do was seem quiet and reserved and it would actually look normal to the other party. "My name is [first and last name]. I joined your class this semester." The woman tried to smile, no doubt put off by your apathetic tone and went over a clipboard that must have held her class list on it. "Ah yes: [first and last name]. Alright, thank you for telling me so I didn't skip over your name while calling attendance." You felt a small bit of relief but not happiness, from no other words being exchanged and you went to find yourself a seat. You picked a spot near the window, writing in a new spiral notebook as the class filled in. You looked back and forth from your writing to see the leaves flutter off and away from the tress and onto the ground. _'Such freedom,'_ you wondered again and then looked over at what you wrote on the paper's lines.

'**She was the only one in her world; therefore, the girl was a God.'**

The class bell rung you briefly wondered why there was a pick-up of noise around you. You dismissed it, however, as people questioned your presence, no doubt rumors already going around. You closed your notebook, sighing and went to pocket the paper when you heard the door open, followed by a loud, "Lo siento!"

Picking up on the foreign presence, you raised your eyebrows and glanced over at the figure in the door frame, as others had, to lock eyes with him. For one time since the divorce, you actually noted the colors this man wore. Other than his deep purple blazer and green plaid trews, he had vibrant malachite irises that sparkled with something you hadn't seen in a long time. Along with his above average height, his hair curled in the- you almost thought 'cutest'- way right down the tips of his ears and the nape of his neck. You could only imagine how far that rich, natural tan of his covered his body.

You then noted people looking back between the two of you and then something else pass between the man's eyes. He seemed to smile directly at you and took his seat in an abandoned corner in the back. The teacher cleared her throat and the class gave her their attention. Through a boring lesson that involved a syllabus and the checking out of books, the class bell eventually rung and you shoved the new literary piece inside of your school bag. As to what book it was, you didn't bother with it. Setting the bag on the ground, it was out of your line of sight when a girl stopped beside your desk. "Ahem," She coughed and you all but seethed at her for looking at you as though you've done such a terrible crime. "Yes?" You muttered bluntly.

"You're new, aren't you?" You bit back a comment to the girl about 'could you ask me something that isn't completely obvious?'. "Well you really need to learn about whose seat you're sitting in," She pointed back to the man in the doorway, lazily looking from the girl's finger to the man. You observed this time he didn't look as raw with color; he looked normal like anyone else did if you decided to look at their color pallet. "What about whose seat I'm sitting in?" You stood. "If it really bothered someone or _you- _it seems-, why wasn't I told about it?" _'Or at least have the fucking guts to tell it to my face.' _

"Because anyone with half a mind should know you don't take the seat of Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo- even if you're new here!" You heard a sigh of flirtatiousness escape her mouth at the male, Antonio's, name and you groaned. Oh, you saw where this was going. Clearly you were stuck inside of those lame and half-assed story scenarios where there was some really popular kid- tall, dark, handsome, smarts, athletics, has it all- and every single girl in school would get jealous over anyone who had anything to do with them. Deciding to get out of this situation before it got worse, you stood up from 'your' seat and glared at the nameless bitch. "Tell him he can have his seat back then."

You stepped out of the classroom to go and get yourself away from the girl and get yourself a drink of water when you noticed that there was something absent on your shoulders. Feeling your back, you groaned and noted that your backpack was missing from your body. When you turned back into the class, not only was that girl gone but your materials as well. You didn't even care to notice that Antonio was still in his other seat. You looked around heatedly for the woman to give her a piece of your mind when you looked out the window to see several items scattered about the school's grounds. It was hard to make out in the cover of leaves but you had a hunch it was yours. Groaning, you threw caution of staying for the next class to the wind and went to walk yourself outside and gather up your things.

As you trotted down the now vacant stairwell, you ran into the Ukrainian woman again- Katyusha Braginskya if you remembered correctly- who blinked at you and frowned. "Miss [last name]? You're supposed to be in class, are you not?" You briefly thought that her Ukrainian accent was cute. You sighed and nodded in understanding to the far kinder woman. "Yes, I am aware of that…" You rubbed your temples in annoyance. "But it would seem that someone has decided to toss my belongings out of a window and onto the courtyard. Might I go and retrieve it?" '_I didn't think there were bullies at this academy,' _you grunted. _'Oh well- you learn something new every day.'_

You received a piteous frown from Katyusha before she nodded and gave you a neon orange slip that excused you for the time being. You were then let outside of the school doors and you ignored the nip of the cold air as you traveled down the cement stairs to gather up your things. You at least were glad there wasn't any sort of water or fountain for anything of yours to fall into; that would have made your life even worse, somehow. First, finding the easiest object, your backpack, strewn up a tree, you vaguely wondered how that girl managed to do all of this within the time span she did. As you reached up on your tip-toes to swipe at your bag, you heard a noise from behind you.

"'She was the only one in her world; therefore, the girl was a God.' That sounds… A bit melodramatic, don't you think?"

Your [color] hair whipped behind you, [color] orbs going doe-eyed like a deer's in the light. You immediately recognized the voice and the writing and all but scowled to see the man: Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo in all his 'glory'. He still had that ever present smile on his face and it was from then on that you concluded that he had to be the most god awfully annoying man you had ever met. Baring your teeth, you ripped your backpack from the tree branch and strode over to him, taking your notebook out of his hands. "Whether or not it's melodramatic is really none of your concern, Mr. Carriedo." '_It's a perfect representation of my life; that's all it is.'_

Instead of being phased by your bluntness, the man had the _gall _to laugh at your notion. "Well it should be! Why does the girl in the story have to be alone? Can't she have friends?"

You deadpanned at the male, mouth agape slightly before throwing your hands up in the air and storming off to find the rest of your things. You didn't really care if you were abusively shoving everything in your backpack: you wanted to get the hell out of here and away from that annoying Antonio. At first glance, he looks like a quiet and understand guy but now you knew that he was just incredibly 'all-up-in-your-business'.

But no, life wouldn't make anything easy for you, would it? As you went to pick up a pencil case filled with another assorted charcoal inks and black and grey inking pens, you heard the brunet's voice once more. "You never explained to me the story of that girl. Can you at least tell me why she's alone, señorita?"

You halted your movements briefly, planning on humoring the man and quirked an eyebrow in his direction. "Well why does our world need to be filled with other existences? And what makes you think the girl is alone?" You knew you were confusing the man but you didn't care. It was a terrifying truth you'd learned far too long ago. "If one has never experienced companionship, one also can't feel lonely. So how can you call the girl lonely?"

A smirk found its way onto your lips, feeling as though you'd bested the man with his lapse of silence and managed to find the rest of your items. Digging through your jeans pocket, you retrieved the orange slip to hand back to your second hour teacher for your lateness. As you walked up the cements stairs and towards the school entrance, you all but forgot about Antonio's existence. That is, until you heard him yell after you.

"Well maybe the girl should experience companionship! Maybe you could make it so she doesn't have to be alone!"

Your feet stopped right before the double doors, causing you to frown deeply but you didn't turn back to Antonio. Instead, you went to class and continued on your merry way. After returning to class 1-A, you watched everyone glare at you. You handed your slip to your new teacher and went back to Antonio's seat, ignoring the scowls from other people. Antonio either said nothing or just didn't seem to care because when he came into the room, he smile apologetically at you and sat back down in the seat in the back. That teacher must not have noticed anything either because the male didn't say anything towards the two of you.

You never would've guessed that sometime within the distant future, you'd be writing something else in that notebook.

'**It was a chance encounter that lasted less than forty-five seconds.'**

* * *

(**A/N: **Hey everyone! So, as myself being in a 'Euphoric Field: Tale of Memories' mood, I decided to write this little… thing. Whether or not that this should be continued depends on you. I'm kind of saddened at how short the beginning is but to be perfectly honest… I also couldn't care less. I think it does a nice job of explaining things. Besides, wouldn't want too much information to be spilled, would we?

So, depending on the reviews of PMs I get, I'll debate on whether or not I should continue this or leave it a one-shot. I'm sorry but there will be a lot of 'Ef: A Tale of Memories' references so if that bothers you, be warned or you can just leave now if you wish. You'll soften up a little bit more by the end of this but right now reader, you're very defensive and lonely! Q AQ But Antonio knows the way to your heart, that I promise!

Critique is welcome- thank you lovelies and have a wonderful day!**)**

**(A/N: **The decision has been made! This story will continue! Even by the few amount of people that have seen the first chapter, I really hope you all enjoy it! I will update as soon as possible. Also, sorry if I make it vague about your family situation, Reader. Q AQ It's supposed to be vague though since I know not everyone lives with their parents, myself included, so I'm trying to make this story as bendable to the will of reality as possible! Sorry if that bothers a few of you... Note me if it does or if you have another idea for this. )


	2. Early Days

**Title:** Euphoric Field  
**Author:** Konekorew  
**Pairing:** Spain/Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo x Defensive/Angry/Depressed! Reader [A.K.A Angst]  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia or 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories'.  
**Note:** You do not have to know what 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories' is to read this story. All will still make sense, I assure you.

* * *

2. Early Days  
_…everything she did was right, but it could also be very wrong…_

The days of the week had passed on without much interest to you. Before your class even began the background information, you had already finished reading your piece of literature: 'Night' by Elie Wiesel. You found it odd, considering the book itself was a part of a trilogy but you didn't press further on the thought. You had read the story and that would make it easier for you to finish up your class work and not be bothered with anything. The book had been less than interesting: another story about a Nazi death camp and the sad tales of a boy. Throughout your own life's struggles, you couldn't feel sorry for the boy. You understood him very well, but you couldn't feel sorry for him. He was another in depth work of literature about a topic your schools had beaten over and over again into your head.

You frowned, now sitting inside of your 'forever-to-be' classroom and looked down at your desk. It was a Friday, which you should have been happy about but you knew your weekend would be spent simply sitting in a silent household of silent turmoil. The divorce agreement hadn't just split apart your family, but left you alone. Because you passed the age of consent where you were able to take care of yourself, the house had been left for you to take care of. Sure, your guardians had decided to continue the pay on the house but whether or not your existence was remembered was another story.

No one in your family seemed to recognize whenever there was a slamming of a door as you walk off to school or whenever you trudge your way to your room. You make your own meals and no one notices the extra food in the trash. As far as you were concerned, you were glad that your family had finally made their way out of the house. You could finally start thinking about yourself being completely alone. You would never have to look at any of their faces again and know that you weren't remembered. You could lie to yourself, think about a family life that was far grander than this and where you weren't left unaccompanied. _'But then, of course,'_ you wondered blankly, staring out your class window. _'What good would lying to myself accomplish?'_

Class 1-A was going through its lunch hour period and you had been busying yourself with eating a small lunch you made for yourself every morning. Next to your meager meal was your trusty spiral notebook you had yet to stop writing in. By now, your one sentenced story had become two full-fledged paragraphs but you weren't sure if you were happy with it or not. [Color] optics scanned over the blue lined page, rereading your work of 'fiction'.

'**She was the only one in here world; therefore, the girl was a God. For as long as she could remember, she lived on an island. It was a small island; so small she could walk around it in half a day. The only view from the shore was three-hundred sixty degrees of ocean, clouds and horizon. There was a castle on the island; the warehouse was stocked with all sorts of food and daily necessities so the girl would never starve. There were also many books and she could never read them all in one life time. That was her whole world.**

**All of the books the girl read were about people. Some of them said that people couldn't live alone, but the girl lived alone. She lived in solitude; she didn't need to laugh, cry or do any of the things the book said were necessities in life. She was complete, and she was perfect. She was the first average human being in the history of mankind. The statistical average of one person always mirrors that person. So everything thing she did was right, but it could also be very wrong. '**

As you hit the last sentence, you were brought out of your reverie by more loud and obnoxious laughter. Rolling your eyes, you closed your notebook and went back to eating. It was far too boisterous in here for you to continue any more of you work. Sadly, you would have to continue in the loneliness of your house.

"It brings new meaning to 'my house'," You whispered, munching softly on half of your [favorite sandwich type] sandwich.

"Yo, Toni!"

Antonio whipped his head towards the direction of the sound, face nearly colliding with an almost luminescent hand as it came to rest on his shoulder instead. "Hey, Gilbert." The Spaniard greeted, causing 'Gilbert' to frown. "It's not just- 'Hey Gilbert'." The albino protested, pointing at his drastically much tanner friend. "It's 'Hallo the super awesome Prussian wonder!' Gott Toni- Du bringst mich auf die Palme!"

Though the Spaniard didn't know a bit of German, he knew his all white friend- aside from his red eyes- was scolding him about 'driving him up a wall' or something. Sighing, Antonio continued to walk along with his German amigo by his side. He had been walking away from Gilbert's classroom, having spent time wandering the halls and visiting his other friends than staying in the boring class of 1-A- not that he wasn't grateful to be in the class! He enjoyed being in a class with so many other smart people, he felt himself grow smarter through their lessons. It was simply more like everyone in there was very stiff and not very well rounded.

'_Except for that one girl…'_

The brunet let his mind wander to the girl that had recently joined their class. He had to admit that she was fairly pretty; even toned [color] skin, shiny [color] tresses that always seemed to have the light inside of them and expressive [color] irises. She had caught his attention the very first morning he had been running late for the new class semester. However, it had nothing to do with what many claimed to be an aloof act of taking the seat he had kept in the academy ever since he started going to the school years ago. It was that apathetic look on her face and one she seemed to hold everywhere. Even when she had gotten mad at him for looking in her notebook, her eyes had barely knitted together in anger. It was from then on that Antonio made it his goal to observe her. Antonio wanted to see a smile on the girl's face, even if she wanted nothing to do with him.

Francis might have called it stalker-ish but Antonio wouldn't have that! He was just trying to be a nice person; he had no idea why his friends would call his actions that extreme…

"Toni? You listening to me?"

Green eyes blinked and he turned to the boy beside him, watching Gilbert's purple blazer crinkle as his head shook. "Hm?" Antonio tried to ask, knowing he had been ignoring his friend, not purposely however. "What were you thinkin' about? You are ignoring the awesome me!"

"Ow!" Antonio winced as he got conked on the head by Gilbert's fist, hearing a 'tsk' fall from his lips. "Come now Toni- Whatever you're thinking about isn't that important- okay?" A five minute warning bell chimed and Gilbert sighed, knowing that it was time for him to make his way back to class. "Tschüss, Freund."

The brunet watched his friend run off and sighed to himself before seeing he was right outside of his classroom, looking around. There were few people inside and those who were had all been conglomerated into their own cliques. All except that one girl, a girl he still didn't know that name of, who sat at her desk with her notebook, a water bottle and a half eaten [favorite sandwich type] sandwich had someone to talk to. Her eyes still held that distance and glazed over gaze as she seemed to watch leaves flutter from the tree branches.

Antonio couldn't continue to watch the girl be all alone. He had to do something that he would need to talk to her for, even for just the next few minutes that the two had free time in class together to do. He glanced around fervently. _'Come on Toni!'_ He chided to himself. _'Think!'_

His eyes landed on a worksheet that he remembered had been given out yesterday; a math worksheet having to deal with finding the radius, circumference or diameter of a circle. He also remembered he hadn't finished said homework but that wouldn't be a problem now! He had an excuse to ask that girl about it!

Walking back over to his desk, he fished out his math folder from his backpack, grabbing the worksheet and began to stride over to the [hair color] girl's desk. As he got closer and closer, he felt just a tad bit more intimidated but he would prevail and get to know this girl! He was from the country of passion- he could do this!

Despite his efforts to seem charming, Antonio figured he failed miserably. "U-Um…" The tanned male bit his lip. "Could you help me with this math worksheet, senorita? Everyone else seems so busy and… I was really hoping you could help me…"

Even after hearing the warning bell, you still had yet to finish your small lunch. At this point, you were beginning to doubt that you would ever finish your meal and you were about to put it away when you noticed a certain brunet walk into the room. You sighed to yourself, trying to look away from the apparently amazing moron you had come to meet and found yourself far more focused on the bread crumbs on your new school uniform. Brushing them off of your red skirt, wishing you'd been given the choice of pants, you fixed the red blazer over your white button-down. Once you had cleaned yourself up, you went to go and put your notebook away when you heard a voice above you.

'_Oh hell no.'_

Antonio, the man you decided was single handedly the most persistent and annoying person on the face of the planet, stood before you with last night's math worksheet in hand. Giving him the straightest face you could produce, you bore your eyes into his. You didn't bother to notice his eyes glittering with something you hadn't seen in forever; desperation.

"Why are you asking me to help you? If you really wanted help, you would've asked for some yesterday. You've had ample time to do it- don't ask me for help when you're clearly trying to slack off."

You watched in utter amusement, although you couldn't find the will to smirk at his misfortune, as the man paled and his face dropped. Feeling you had won your argument by his lack of speech, you zipped up your back pack as you stowed away your notebook and went to get everything you had for your upcoming math class. Frowning, you heard Antonio's voice resonate above your head again, watching him take a seat in the desk in front of you and look back at you pleadingly. "Por favor," His Spanish words dripped with utter sadness. "At least start me on one of these problems… Okay? I can do the rest myself… Just give me the basic formula and I can figure it out."

Your resolve softened and you eventually gave into the man, only telling yourself you did it to get him off of your back. Taking the paper from his hand, you glanced over one of the problems he hadn't managed to finish and noted it was a problem that had brought you great sadness yesterday.

'**You decide to take a lamb and chain it to the ground with a stake so it can only walk in a circle. Assuming the length of the chain is twelve feet, what is the area of the lamb's circle?'**

You had figured out the problem with ease but it still brought you great turmoil. Sighing, you put the paper down your desk and pointed. "The area of the circle is the length of the chain squared by pie." You muttered, rubbing your temples. "So, in this case, the answer is twelve by pie."

"Oh!" Antonio grinned, as if this was a revolutionary idea. "Alright! Gracias…."

You noticed he seemed to be pondering something and then you face palmed, shaking your head. "You don't know my name, do you?"Getting a sheepish look from Antonio confirmed your suspicions and you sighed before giving him his answer. "It's [first name]. Don't ask me again."

Green eyes twinkled at you, but you didn't bother to look in his direction and took to watching other people flood in. "Gracias, [first name]. It means a lot actually."

A snort escaped your mouth, looking at Antonio with the most incredulous gaze you could gather. "What: to know my name? You're one strange kid, Carriedo."

Antonio couldn't help but notice as he looked over the problem again, in corner of his eye that your lips were twitched upwards- if only slightly. It was close to a smile and yet not entirely. But it was enough; it was what Antonio had wanted to see. The way your eyes were glittering and the curve of your mouth looked almost natural on you. He made sure to burn that image into his mind before he went to write down the answer. He paused the scribbling of his mechanical pencil when your voice resonated above him.

"Don't you feel bad though, for the lamb? I figured a strange kid like you might."

"Que?" Barely used Spanish tumbled from the tanned male's tongue as he saw your face back to its normal frown. He looked back at the paper, only part of his calculations written down before he decided to fish out a calculator. "El cordero? Porque?"

Honestly, using what little Spanish you knew off the top of your head and from that stupid show every child watched in America- Dora or something- to learn Spanish, you shook your head at the male's answer. "Think about it-" You instructed and looked distantly off at the trees instead of your 'conversation partner'. "If you keep that lamb tied to the ground, what's going to happen to it? What if there isn't any grass around for it to eat and even if there is, what happens after the lamb had eaten all of it?"

You left your answer open ended, hoping the Spaniard would fill in the blank as the bell rung, signifying for students to return to their seats. In bemusement, you noticed the slight disturbance written all across your face and actually smirked in success. You had finally rid yourself of Antonio for good.

Pulling out your math binder, you waited for the teacher to come back in and for your lesson of the day to start. All the while, you wouldn't know that Antonio had been sitting in the corner and think about what you said.

'_Something makes me think… [First name] is the lamb of the story.'_

* * *

As you had ignored the color and sounds from your family life for the last few years, you easily ignored all of the students freaking out as they left school for the weekend. The trots down the stone steps, the laughter and squeals of joy as several walked home, went to their cars or waited for the parents to pick them up. '_When was the last time,' _you walked through the grayscale world, barely noticing you were straying off the path of the school cement and you walked through the grove of trees. '_- that I ever thought about hanging out with friends after school?'_

Your mind held this question inside of you for the longest time, wandering back in your subconscious when you were in elementary school. Your life had been fun back then; you hung out with those random kids like Karen and Bryan and those you would have never bothered to remember even went to your elementary school. You just remembered the last time you laughed, the last time you bothered to smile and the last time you ever saw happy faces on your guardians faces.

The walk had taken you to some nameless somewhere and when you bothered to halt your legs, you wondered if you actually wanted to go back to your lonely home just yet. What would be gained from going home early? Other than starting another tasteless dinner before writing, taking a shower or… something- what would you do? You would only spend several extra hours in silence. At least outside, you could acknowledge the other existences around you. While they might not have color or their voices end up being soundless, they had to be better than your 'picture-perfect-canvas-home', right?

"-out!"

Sadly, your head didn't turn around in time to notice something pile-driving towards your face. You had been facing sideways and briefly noted out of the corner of your eye a black and white projectile hurtling towards you before an incredible stinging was felt on your cheek and the top of your head. You neck flung backwards in reaction and more pain was brought when you felt cold metal and a seeping numbness surround your head. A wave of dizziness washed over you, the world spun and then you collapsed to the cold and hard cement.

* * *

(**A/N: Ah yes- what a 'cliffhanger', huh? It's probably totally obvious and yet it may or may not be- oh well~ -shrugs- Oh! And so no one is confused- you will always have your class with Antonio- you have all of your classes together because you share that one classroom forever and all of the semester xD I decided to go European style with this shit~ Woot!**

**So um… feedback. Yup. Don't really know what to put in this A/N. I'll probably think of something and then somehow rework something here but… right now I can't think of anything… Read and review- reviewers get to have that-**

'**German Sparkle Party'**

**With Prussia~- /shot/.**)


	3. Impulsive Step

**Title:** Euphoric Field  
**Author:** Konekorew  
**Pairing:** Spain/Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo x Defensive/Angry/Depressed! Reader [A.K.A Angst]  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia or 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories'.  
**Note:** You do not have to know what 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories' is to read this story. All will still make sense, I assure you.

* * *

3. Impulsive Step  
_…If you had been hoping to be my friend, Carriedo, all of your chances have just been cracked against the pavement…_

The first thing to always be registered to the subconscious is pain; one that you felt throbbing throughout your veins with every pulse of your heart. It thundered and shuddered all over you, attacking every one of your nerves and leaving you twitching in agony. The second thing to always be registered to the subconscious is that you're not completely awake. You're out of the stage where you can't see anything but you're not to the point of wanting to open your eyes again. A thick veil of pitch black swathed your [color] irises and you found that no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't pry your eyes open to see past the darkness. You also found that you could no longer move any of your limbs. You were trapped, immobile and a bit afraid. Within the distance, you heard the distinct clicking and shutting of a door and then the scraping of metal against linoleum. A breath heaved beside you and with the deep sigh behind it, you knew a male was sitting next to you- wherever you were at the time.

"I seriously need to be more careful! Oh, I hope cordero will be aright…"

Ignoring the pet name, you immediately registered the voice in your head, which was a bit surprising since you only knew the man for the last six days and grumbled, eyes still not opening. Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo was sitting beside you and whatever had caused you to be lying immobile in a bed was clearly his fault. A bit more far off than Antonio's troubled humming, you could hear the battering of a heater; it meant that you were in some sort of building. For some new reason, you didn't want to wake up, even if you could. It didn't really settle well with you that you would have to talk to Antonio now if you were to 'wake up'; besides, it might be interesting to hear what he did to you before you decide to reveal that you weren't entirely asleep.

A mask of grogginess clouded itself over your ears once minutes passed and nothing was heard or said and it would seem that your body was slipping back into the endless void of your mind. It would seem inevitable that even if you waited any longer, Antonio would still be by your side when you woke up. It seemed odd to you that he was sitting by your side though. From what you could remember of the years of your life before your guardian's divorce, you couldn't recall a time where you had needed to go to the hospital or had been injured. You had been just fine on your own…

"She still hasn't woken up, Antonio?"

The new voice was a light female, dripping with some sort of new accent; if you had to guess, it would be Cuban. "No, miss. How long has it been?" Antonio's chair scrapped against the floor again and you assumed he had turned around to face the woman. "You don't have to call me miss, Antonio." A light chuckle, "Call me Evita and, as far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't have to worry. It's only been about ten minutes since you came in here and it doesn't seem as though she was injured too bad…"

Evita, whoever the woman was, walked over to your bedside. You felt thin and dexterous fingers run along your scalp and then another thing that made you cringe in pain as Evita's hand pressed against a sensitive spot on your head. "You only broke a few arteries close to her forehead; quite common if you decided to hit someone in the face with a soccer ball." Evita sighed and pulled away before you heard a drawer being opened and the crunching of plastic. It took you a bit to realize that the woman was unpeeling a bandage for you and brushing back your hair to place it over your left temple. You groaned a bit in annoyance but it was nothing that wouldn't be mistaken for a sound of sleep. You got hit in the head with a soccer ball? '_Tall, dark, athletic- so far, he's the perfect stereotype…' _You grunted to yourself and shifted your position on the bed to curl onto your side. You heard a chuckle resonate from above you. "There, see? She should be perfectly fine Antonio. Just make sure that when she wakes up, she doesn't feel dizzy, start vomiting or if she goes back to sleep again- that means she most likely has a concussion."

"Okay, Evita- Gracias." Somewhere in your mind, you could picture him nodding. Evita hummed and the door opened before clicking shut. You were alone again.

Aside from the occasional hum of the heater, you didn't hear much noise. There was the clinking and clattering of something heavy and you presumed that Antonio was opening his backpack after there was the squeaking of a zipper. You guessed that he must have been doing his homework or something while he waited for you. A fruitless effort, you thought but it would be better than immediately having to talk to the bastard who apparently hit your head with a soccer ball. You readied your mind with some sort of sentence to chew out to him until you vaguely remembered your previous class day. English was simply reading in class, Math was reviewing area of third-dimensional figures and turning in your circle homework sheet, History was watching a boring film on the Harlem Renaissance, you had a test in Biology that took the whole hour and your free period was spent writing more of your story, evidentially.

It then snapped in your head that if you and Antonio shared all of your classes together, he would have no homework. So then what was he going into his backpack for? You tried to stifle your curiosity and unsettling feeling in your stomach but you felt it all drop when a heavily accented voice filled the room.

"-The girl began to draw. Between books, instruments and art, drawing seemed the best way for her to create people. But it wasn't that easy: she grew bored and gave up countless times. But that was fine because-"

Antonio almost died of a heart attack as he pulled the spiral notebook away from his face and appearing right behind it was your face, full of anger and flames in your incandescent [color] orbs. "Ay!" He flew backwards in his chair, notebook flying and skidding across the room and his head- fortunately or unfortunately for you- landed back on his own satchel. Not waiting to squelch your anger, you grabbed for the pages of your story and being beating Antonio in the head with it, scowling furiously. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You don't just go through people's things without their permission!"

Malachite irises blinked, looking back up from the assault of metal, paper and cardboard to see your face flushed in hatred and- was that a bit of embarrassment? Antonio laughed a bit, going to stand up after you pulled away, puzzled. "Lo siento, cordero. I should have asked first, right?"

You had readied for Antonio to freak out but your sentence died on your lips. Quirking a fair-toned eyebrow, you looked over the Spaniard sprawled on the floor as a laugh filled the room. You hadn't expected bemusement to come from a guy who had just been found going through _your _backpack and had been reading _your _story, especially after he just got the living hell scared out of him and so on and so forth. Instead of your anger igniting, you pulled back from Antonio and instead, just grabbed your backpack. "If you had been hoping to be my friend, Carriedo, all of your chances have just been cracked against the pavement."

It felt incredibly stupid to mention the word friend but you knew that ever since the beginning when Antonio had talked to you outside on your first day of school, all the boy wanted to do was get to know you. You didn't want him to get to know you; after the incident, you wanted to be all alone. The only thing your mind had ever wanted for you was a way to get out of never having to go anywhere or having to feel anything. Feelings would weigh you down. The only reason you went to school was because learning was one way you could escape the mundane lifestyle you had made for yourself and the emptiness of a house that had once been loved and where a little girl named [full name] had once been loved.

The brunet was left on the floor as he watched your fleeting figure throw open the white door and head out. Throwing all of your school things onto your shoulders, you swept out of the school to instantaneously be assailed with sirens and the pounding of rain. Off somewhere in the distance, you assumed something must have happened with the police; perhaps a robbery or break in. Glaring up at the black sky for deterring your already obnoxious way home, you proceeded on through the thick gusts of wind and rain droplets, becoming soaked in the process. You thought about running into the nearest café to dry off and get something hot to drink but you didn't have any sort of money on you. Street lamps glowed above your head as the darkness fell upon your body and through the loud noises you never noticed something calling for you in the distance. Antonio fell upon you as quickly as the rain had and as you neared a street lamp, you turned to face him with fire in your eyes. "What?" You interrogated.

You blinked when you watched Antonio hand you the object that you had beaten him with earlier and tiled your head. In your rage, you must have forgotten that which was most important. Hastily grabbing it and shoving it in your backpack so it wouldn't get wet any further, you vaguely registered Antonio's voice again. "You left that in the nurse's office and Evita told me I shouldn't leave your side for quite some time in case you have a concussion. It is my fault after all." You glanced back up at him after securing your story and glared into his irises. They held nothing but another motion you had not seen in forever: apology. "I know, I heard." You countered and turned on the heel of your required school shoes. "Thanks for knocking me unconscious, dumbass. You really could have injured me."

Antonio winced at your cursing and could only frown, but he continued to follow suit. You turned a corner to watch his movements and you noted he was following your every step. Turning around as to ask for an explanation for his behavior, the Spaniard held up his hands in defense. "I just want to make sure you get home safe! At least then your parents will be able to take care of you."

You didn't bother with interjecting that no one else would ever be at your house. A part of you wanted to tell him the truth but you stifled the feeling. Instead, you quipped, "I'll be fine on my own. You don't have to follow me like a little lost puppy-"

On the mention of pets, you blinked as both you and Antonio heard a loud chorus of mewling in the distance. Both of you looked back and forth at each other as if to say, 'you hear it too?' over the pounding of rain on asphalt and the clapping of thunder. Beckoning Antonio to actually follow you this time, your search lead you to a lamp post about fifteen feet away. At the foot of the pole was a small box that used to contain oranges. Now, under the ochre glow of the street light, you saw a calico cat surrounded by several mounds of kittens, eyes still unopened. They mewled in delight at drinking from their mother's milk, curling at the warmth in their bellies from the harsh weather they had no idea was surrounding them. You looked at the scene for quite some time as you eyes caught onto something you didn't really want to see and you turned away. Antonio noticed your discomfort.

"What's a matter, cordero? You don't like kittens?" He chided and smiled, crouching down to look at the mother cat. She went to his at him and Antonio shook his head, holding up his hands in defense. "I'm not here to hurt you or your kittens. You're doing a fine job taking care of them, gato!"

You turned your head briefly, looking over Antonio's happy face and you shook your head, [color] tresses dampened from the wind and the rain. "Idiot," You chastised, frowning. "You can't understand what you're saying. Now, we saw what we needed to see, now can we-"

Antonio interrupted your sentence with a distressed cry, scanning the orange crate further. "Oh Dios mio!" Tanned fingers pointed to what you had first caught onto. "This is terrible! This kitten is almost dead!"

From the first second you laid eyes on the poor little cat, eyes shut and profusely mewling for help, you couldn't stare at it. After noticing how the kitten's brothers and sisters ignored it's twisted paw and inability to receive milk from its mother, it immediately reminded you of yourself. The cat had been ignored by what was supposed to watch and help it grow. It had been left blind and uncared for and you found that almost feeling guilt for not being able to help the poor creature, you couldn't look at it as the newborn cried at the corner of the box. Antonio noticed your discomfort and immediately looked at you for advice. "We should take care of it, [name]!" He pleaded, now smiling at his new innovation. "The cat can't see and if we take it to a vet, we could get it all it's shots and stuff and we could take care of the thing together and-"

"Why the hell are you asking me if I want to take care of a cat?" Condescendingly, you leaned against the lamp post, foot nearest to the dying kitten. "Especially if I want to take care of it with you? What good is invading mother nature's ways going to do? Obviously, this kitten is supposed to die in the wild. We can't help it-"

Watching a whine of sadness come from the undoubtedly older man, you watched his face light up in amusement and you looked at him, puzzled. When you followed his emerald gaze, your eyes widen as you watched the kitten fumble and try and walk closer to you. Unintentionally going against your actions, you gently pulled the kitten into the palm of your hand and glared at Antonio. "Where's the nearest vet? If we don't get this kitten somewhere dry it'll die of pneumonia before it dies of starvation or hurts itself from this broken paw."

Antonio, for once in his life, was quick on his feet and nodded before the two of you went running into the night, kitten held close to your chest. It had been an odd reaction on your part, but you couldn't stand looking at the kitten in pain any more. You briefly remembered what Antonio had first told you about loneliness. He had told you to re-write your story so the girl could have something in her life. You had always thought since your guardians forgot your existence that acknowledging and trying to befriend or take care of something else would make you feel worse, but the over compelling urge to help something that looked so broken and couldn't take care of itself on its own got the better of you. You briefly swore to yourself that you would convince Antonio that after the cat was taken care of, you would have Antonio put it back in the wild with its mother.

After taking nearly twenty-minutes to get into town and end up getting directions from some old woman in a grocery store, you were sitting sopping wet with Antonio in the nearest veterinary hospital. There had been people to carefully pull the kitten into an operating room and you could only tried and stifle the worry boiling in your stomach. Ideas of the operation being unsuccessful bopped into your mind as much as you tried to convince yourself it wouldn't matter if this specific animal died, even after your help. Animals died every day. Yet, the way the cat seemed to notice that you were there and the newborn, eyes shut tight, wanted your help, bothered you to the ends of the earth.

You hadn't even noticed that Antonio had draped his uniform jacket over you until he scooted closer to your body on the bench you shared. Your face flared up in embarrassment but you blamed it on your body reacting to the cold. You were saved from speaking to the boy who had tried to 'put the moves' on you when a young blonde, hair tied with two braided pigtails, come forward with a smile on her face. Illuminated in the light, you could see the outline of kitten's body. It's front was covered in white with patches of gray and brown flecking its forehead and back all the way down to its tail. A splint covered the animal's injured paw and a towel wrapped itself around the newborn's fur to keep the poor thing arm. You noticed it shivering and gently received the kitten from the woman. You noted on the tag of her dress the words 'Madeline Williams'.

"Your very lucky you got her in when you did," Her Canadian voice could barely be heard and both yourself and Antonio had to strain to hear her. "If she had put any more strain on that paw, it wouldn't have been amendable…" She directed her finger to the splint that cat was trying to move. You pet the creature to calm her down with your index finger. "Is there going to be any cost?" You turned to Antonio, frowning. You had forgotten you hadn't had any money and it didn't seem that Antonio had any on him. You heart nearly stopped in relief when you watched the Canadian shake her head. "I'm not worried about that, I'm just happy you got her in here when you did." The woman laughed. "You two look like a respectable bunch of teenagers anyways. Stay here as long as you wish until you want to leave. I recommend you keep that splint on her paw for at least another few weeks before going to a vet and either having it replaced or completely taken off. Good night to both of you."

After leaving the animal shelter, you continued your trek back to your house. You had debated on whether or not you should just bolt and get to your house before Antonio knew where you lived, but the kitten fastened inside of your arms and uniform jacket stopped your movements. Amongst the shitty weather, you heard your Spanish acquaintance go on and on about the new kitten. "I wonder what we should name her!" He laughed cheerfully. "She's got a bunch of different colors on her body so we can't go off of her coat and I don't know what her eyes are yet so that's out… But I thgink it'll be really cool to buy a bunch new things for the kitty! Don't you, [name]-"

You abruptly halted your movements, turning on your heel to glare motherly at Antonio. "_You _shouldn't keep her," you left out that Antonio had wanted the kitten to be something for the two of you to take care of. "You can't just do that Antonio. Would you like to be injured and randomly separated from your family when you've never spent any time with them?" You glared. "You shouldn't take care of the cat- she'll be fine on her own. You should've just left her with the animal shelter and let them take care of her or hell- we really should have just left her in the rain and-"

Your body flinched when you felt a broad hand touch your shoulder. Pulling away from the contact immediately, you saw Antonio at first look at you with sadness and then a small smile. "Well, why are you asking me all these things when you're the one still carrying the kitten?"

Blinking, you looked back down at the purring little bundle in your arms and glared at Antonio before sighing. Swiftly, you came back at him with excuses. "B-But um…" You bit your lip, not having a prepared lie. "M-My parents won't like it if I-"

Antonio interrupted, "That's no problem!" He laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "I thought it might be something like that. See- my mother and I live alone and it's just the two of us and I figured having a pet in the house might help the two of us or at least let her have something to take care of when I'm not around b-but that also doesn't mean you can't go and visit the kittens too but I wonder how gato will like the sea turtles in my room or-"

You laughed a bit, watching him ramble and you never even registered in your brain that you might actually be smiling. It had been so long since you had ever laughed, a deep laugh, filled with a harmonious noise Antonio had never heard before. Looking down at you, he smiled back. "You look really cute when you laugh, cordero. You should do it more often!"

Finally realizing what you had been doing, your face turned cherry red. You blamed it again on the cold weather. You stuttered a bit, mouth opening and closing like a fish before you hurriedly gave Antonio the kitten. The poor thing mewl in discomfort and you winced, not remembering the injured paw for a second. Antonio however helped the cat into a comfy position and Antonio smirked a bit. "Hey, don't think I'm letting you out of this easy! I want to at least walk you home-" He pointed to the dark sky and a clock in the distance reading some odd number to eight. "It's relatively late right now and I'm sure your parents are worried about you. I want you to get home safely."

Maybe you felt, at that moment, a little bit of happiness because you decided not to tell Antonio the truth. You knew telling Antonio that you had no home because your guardians forgot your existence and that you lived alone would only result in Antonio codling you even more or leaving you alone again. You wanted to see just how much Antonio would want to get to know you before he got to learn about your past. With a little less reluctance, you found your way to your house. After explaining to Antonio that your parents were probably asleep since they worked early in the morning, the Spaniard immediately bought the lie and told you he would be back at your house the next morning. You were less than happy with Antonio's new plans but none the less, you entered your house. You didn't even have enough want to eat. The only thing you did was walk into your bedroom, clad in your chilly clothing and fell asleep as you hit the bed.

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**(A/N: Chapter three! Woo-hoo xD Sorry it took me longer than usual guys- Shiesse passiern. –shrugs- And yes- Evita is Cuba and yes, Canada is a veterinarian xD oh come on- you can't tell me the two wouldn't be in the medical business after Paint it white! Seriously Q AQ I actually want to inform you all that I have a contest in mind for the next chapter. I want my reviewers to give me a name to call our little kitten in the story. The winner will get a one-shot of themselves in another reader-insert. As for what I'm expecting name wise, I want it to be creative and could also have an element in the story applied with it! If you don't win this small little contest, don't think that I ignored you or anything and don't flame other people because that's no fun! Q AQ I will have little miniature contests throughout the story! The contest will end in exactly a week from today! Anyhow, read and review and have a good day!**

**Advice of today:**

"**When the going gets tough, the tough call their friends!" – Sora, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance)**


	4. Secret Story

**Title:** Euphoric Field  
**Author:** Konekorew  
**Pairing:** Spain/Antonio Ferñandez-Carriedo x Defensive/Angry/Depressed! Reader [A.K.A Angst]  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia or 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories'.  
**Note:** You do not have to know what 'Euphoric Field: A Tale of Memories' is to read this story. All will still make sense, I assure you.

* * *

4. Secret Story  
_…Fine, but just once! God knows I don't need you to continue pestering me about it …_

While you would have liked to think that sunlight would be coming through your windows that morning like that wonderful golden glow you used to see as a child, you opened your eyes to see a grayscale world. The rain had yet to stop from yesterday and you watched as puddles outside of your house were assailed with small little pelts of rain drops from the gloomy sky. You willed yourself to move on your sopping wet bed, groaning and now remembering why your bed was wet. In a mirror from across the room, you could see your body still clad in your school uniform. You remembered you hadn't bothered to change out of it from yesterday.

Forcing your legs to the side of your bed, you wandered into your bedroom's adjoined bathroom; peeling off your skirt, shirt and jacket on the way. Once you were completely undressed, you walked into your shower and were welcomed by hot water on your skin. It was better than the feeling of goosebumps on your skin from having stayed in a damp uniform for the whole night. Bathing your [hair color] crown with the scalding liquid, you fumbled through the shower to find the shampoo you normally used. It was your favorite shampoo scent: [favorite shampoo scent]. Lathering yourself and your hair in the substance, you inhaled the pleasant smell with a sigh of bliss.

Your shower didn't last much longer and you ambled out of the tub, teeth chattering at the besetment of cold air around you. Hastily grabbing a fluffy towel from a cabinet underneath your sink, you groped for as much warmth from the material as possible. Making a nice little tuck underneath your armpit for the towel to stay around your body, you leaned down to grab your discarded clothing from the floor. You'd have to go to the laundry room and make sure this was dry, as you had every day for the school year. Trotting down the carpeted steps of your home, you were about to wander through the kitchen and then downstairs when the dull thudding of wood befuddled you. Sighing and placing your soaked school uniform on the kitchen table to be brought down later, you went to your front door to see if there was someone knocking. You opened it without much precautionary measures.

"Hola, cordero! Good to see you this… morning…"

As soon as you registered the sight of the Spanish male in front of you, your brain immediately recognized that your classmate was standing in front of you clad in attire and you were barely covered with a towel. You froze, stuttering a bit and almost went to slam the door shut in his face, flushed. However, you couldn't will your arm to throwing the door shut; if it was because you were almost naked or you didn't want to kick out your classmate, you didn't know."S-Sorry, A-Antonio-" You pointed numbly into the living room. "J-Just sit there, I'll… be back."

Trying your best to not focus on being in one of the most awkward situations of your life, you ran back upstairs to get redressed. You were sure you began to mutter out loud to yourself about being an idiot but really, you were just searching for any sort of quick outfit to get dressed in. You didn't have much seeing as how your parental had no reason to buy clothes for a child that didn't exist, but you could admit to taking some of their money every once in awhile. They never noticed it; just like the couple of extra showers they heard running in the night before they went to bed. After finding some sort of bra and panty set to wear under your attire, you ended up shimmying into a pair of toned [color] jeans that had fallen to the floor in your pursuit of clothing. Then, running back to your drawers after you closet left you fruitless, you pulled out a nice and clean [color] graphic tee to pull on over your bra. You looked into your bedroom mirror to look over your appearance and sighed at your damp hair, staring to curl at its tips. It would have to do for now. It took you a second to notice a peeling bandage over the head wound Antonio had decided to give you yesterday but you didn't bother with it.

You were debating about whether or not you wanted to run back downstairs to see your visitor. You hadn't honestly expected Antonio to have come to your house in the morning. He may have promised it yesterday but you didn't think the guy was _that _persistent. Against your better judgment, you continued the trek down your steps to see your classmate sheepishly wave at you. Identifying the colors of what he was wearing, you noticed his arms were adorned in a tight Spanish fuβball jersey and some dark stoned washed jeans; around his neck was a wooden rosary you had never noticed him wearing before. In his arms was the bundle of the kitten that had yet to be named, purring soundly in Antonio's arms.

"Hola, cordero." He repeated, although it didn't have the same happiness it had when he first told you this morning before things became awkward. "S-Sorry about that," You rubbed the back of your neck before joining him on the couch. "I didn't think anyone important would be showing up at the door." You didn't think much of the comment but Antonio seemed to think otherwise because he started laughing, sporting a large grin on his lips. "What's so funny?" You inquired, glaring a bit at his sudden outburst. Antonio probably would have continued laughing except for the fragile little kitten whole began mewling fervently at being woken up. Sighing, smile still on his lips, Antonio went to reach for something. You didn't notice that he had his backpack on the ground. "Well," He pawed around the storage container for a bit before procuring a baby bottle of milk; you assumed mother's milk for a cat. "If you didn't think anyone important would show up, does that mean that _I'm _important to you?"

You wouldn't have noticed the blush on your face because you deadpanned, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Fuck no," You cursed and let yourself fall further into the couch. "You're clearly arrogant if you think that." You heard a whine from above you and you glanced in Antonio's direction to see his face was covered in hurt. "I'm not arrogant!" He groaned, trying to get the small little kitten on her back and the tip of the bottle into her mouth so she could start suckling on it. "And I wish you wouldn't swear around the kitten. It's not good for her!"

If you could see your face right now, it probably would hold the best 'what the fuck' face on the planet. You didn't even bother to tell Antonio that the cat wasn't a human child and would never be able to speak English nor did you bother to really say anything else. Shaking your head, dumbfounded that a junior in class 1-A talked like that, you closed your eyes on the couch. It was silent for awhile, except for the occasional squeak or swallowing noise from the kitten happily receiving breakfast beside you until you heard one noise you didn't think you'd hear that morning. A large groan and churning noise came from your stomach, instantly making your eyes open and stare down at your clothed belly. You groaned, realizing you hadn't eaten anything yesterday; you didn't have breakfast, you never finished your sandwich and you had fallen asleep before you had any time to make dinner.

"Aw, cordero's hungry! Would you like me to feed you too?"

Your [color] irises fluttered open at the notion, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for breath. In your haste, you said the default that came into your mind. "Hell no! D-Do you even know how wrong that sounds? God! I'm a grown woman- I can cook food myself!" You knew it didn't mean anything that you were 'a grown woman' because the fact of the matter was you didn't want to accept anything from Antonio because it didn't feel right. His mollycoddling was suffocating and you didn't know whether you should stay a bit longer with that lovely mollycoddling or run away with raw instincts and never speak with the man again. You knew it was almost impossible however, seeing as how the male was in your house to begin with.

"And what did I tell you about swearing around our kitten! And I wanna cook you something to be nice, not to sound like that!" He inquired, frowning at you and tilting his head with a sad look. It reminded you of a child, wondering why their mother had scolded them. A couple of moments went by before neither of you said anything up until the kitten started mewling again. Antonio looked over the kitten, grinning once more and continued to greedily give it the milk formula. It wasn't until your stomach growled again that Antonio looked at you; your face sported a blush. "Please let me cook something for you, [first name]?"

You let your walls cave and with a grumble, you took the kitten from Antonio, gingerly pointing to the kitchen beyond the living room. "Have fun." You whispered and looked over the tiny little creature once more. You heard the creak of the floorboards and watched as the Spaniard ventured off into the depths of your house. It wasn't until awhile after that the kitten went to sleep again and you let the small little bundle of fur nestle in between the towel and the couch cushions. You were at least confident that it wasn't going to move anywhere any time soon. Standing up and brushing the small amount of cat fur off your body, you walked off to the kitchen to see what Antonio was doing. To your mild surprise, he was cooking a big batch of scrambled eggs. "You should tell your parents that they need to go shopping soon," He frowned almost as though he didn't sound very sincere. "Well, what I mean by that is- certainly there isn't that much food for the three of you!"

Before he could mention anything further, you strode over to the kitchen table to catch the remains of your soaked school uniform. Without much flare, you whispered, "I don't know what you're talking about." This caused the junior's face to contort in confusion. You didn't bother with him anymore than that as you trotted down the steps into your basement and into the washing room. You debated on whether or not you should honestly rewash the wet clothing with detergent and decided that you weren't that lazy and that the article of clothing would smell of mildew if you didn't wash it first. Finally getting the infernal machine to work, kicking it at some point, you heard a resounding click before the machine started up and you heard the splashing of water. Leaving the clothing unattended, you came back upstairs to see Antonio plating the eggs for the two of you. You noticed he had added some toast into the making, along with a meager glass of milk. "I didn't know how much you ate in the morning so I thought this might be enough."

"It honestly doesn't matter to me," You muttered bluntly. If you really tried, you could have smiled at him but years of distrust told you not to. "Thank you anyways, Carriedo." You had also lost the taste of calling people by their first names. Sitting down at one of the kitchen chairs, you glanced over from your food to Antonio every once and awhile. Throughout that meal, you never wanted to mention that it tasted delicious and was a lot better than your lack of cooking skills. You knew how to cook, that was for sure. You never had the time or care to add flavor to anything though. It was always just making something quickly so you didn't have to be in the same kitchen with your guardians who were eating their own meals and ignoring you entirely. "I wanted to know if you thought of a name for the kitten," You paused your movements of taking another bite of your scrambled eggs, raising an eyebrow. "I haven't thought of anything, so no: I have no ideas."

Boringly enough, your conversation didn't go much farther than that. You both finished your meals, talking over some of the options and biquring back and forth. Having lost creativeness, you didn't say much other than simple names like Allie or Smoky for her calico colors. Antonio had frowned at you for those and then playfully shook your arm, telling you that you could contribute more names- something creative such as Angel or 'pequeno tomate'. You hadn't bothered to note you never thought creatively in your life, not after the accident. More names added themselves to the list and eventually the two of you had a small little legal pad of things written up: Hero, Shift, Angel, Pequeno Tomate, Smoky, Allie, Toma and eventually, Fleece. Antonio had mentioned that one and you actually had to pause and glance at him. "What's with a name like that?" The two of you had transpired to the couch where the small little bundle lay sleeping soundly, splinted arm twitching every so often. "She hardly has any fur, so what kind of a name is that?"

A fond chuckle fell from Antonio's mouth that you did not swoon over in the slightest as he looked at you with mirthful eyes. "Well, you remind me of a lamb, 'cordero'." It suddenly occurred to you that 'cordero' must have meant sheep in Spanish and you resisted the urge to slap him. "It was a math problem that made you think that!" You groaned. "I am nothing like a lamb, thank you." The tanned male seemed to think otherwise and decided to poke your nose over the statement. You glared at him, much like a choleric dog, with got Antonio to back off a little. "You are like a lamb though! You're cute and look so cuddly and-" You shot him an inquiring eye at the last few words and you watched as his mouth twitched uncomfortably. "N-Never mind…" He whispered but it was more like an assurance to him as opposed to you. Oddly enough, you decided to drop the subject, thinking that the annoying man was just being an airhead. "The kitten can be named Fleece if you're so hell-bent on it," You glared and you watched his eyes fill up with a glow: hopefulness. "Just stop calling me a lamb and we have a deal. You can make as many lamb jokes with the kitten, but I am not a lamb; thank you."

Fleece made a snort of approval in her sleep and you sighed, stroking the blotchy kitten with the tip of your index finger. You welcomed the awkward silence between you and Antonio for quite some time. It was back to cordial, simpleton talk. You didn't have to worry about emotions or feelings and honestly, you were thinking of hastily shoving the man out of your house afterwards. Looking up from your petting of Fleece, you saw him thinking about something to himself. Feeling a bit bolder, you rapped your knuckles against his head. "I couldn't imagine anyone like you 'thinking'," You snorted, turning to face him completely. "Got something on your mind or were you thinking of leaving?" You hinted at the last part in case he didn't get the idea that you were starting to feel unwelcome by his presence in your empty home.

You would come to learn that Antonio had never learned a little skill throughout his childhood called 'reading the atmosphere'.

"Not at all," the brunet said finally which made you frown more. "I was thinking of yesterday; you know that story of yours-" A groan interrupted his sentence and you glared at him, not at all wanting to talk about this. You did not want to remember that Antonio had read your secret story while you were 'unconscious'. "That is none of your concern now is it?" You made sure to keep a cold tone in your voice to tip him off and hopefully get him out of your house faster. "It's something I'm doing in my free-time and it's not at all in the viewing stages so if you would kindly just stop talking about it?-"

"[first name]." It was your turn to be interrupted and you paused your rambling to look him over. His eyes were ablaze with something that was more common to see; irritation. You supposed the slap-happy male could get made at some points but from the couple of days of knowing him, he had never acted angry towards you."Can I see the story? Besides," The mirthfulness was back in his eyes. "Don't all authors need editors? Couldn't you say I was editing your story with 'constructive criticism'?"

Something came over you for the time being and, against your better judgment, you gestured Antonio to follow you. "Fine, but just once!" You grumbled. "God knows I don't need you to continue to pester me about it…" Whether or not you were actually interested in his opinion, you didn't care but you lead him up the stairs to your bedroom anyways. After hearing the trotting of noise going back to the couch, you watched as he grabbed Fleece gently in his arms before paddling back up behind you. Once you reached your bedroom door, you turned on your heel to look him over. You put your hand on the doorknob and realized it was cold. "Can you at least promise me that you'll get out of my house after this?" You watched his face fall to a frown and quickly, you came up with an excuse. "I have things to finish up before my parents come home and I don't want them wondering why I didn't get them done when it'll be all your fault."

He raised a thing bark brown eyebrow at that before shaking his head. With a chuckle- you noticed with a little disdain that it sounded sad-, he nodded. "Alright, [first name]: Te prometo."

Ignoring the Spanish for a moment, you threw open your door and ignored the loud clanging it made when it collided with your wall. You supposed you shouldn't be that miffed by Antonio asked to read your story; perhaps it was because he had come across it without your permission both times you had caught him reading it. You watched out of the corner of your eye as he sat on the bed while you gave the room a cursory glance in order to find your backpack. Retrieving the substance and frowning at it being wet, you unzipped the knapsack in order to the retrieve the notebook. Your story was fine but you figured that you'd have to hand wash your backpack to get rid of the smell. You joined Antonio on the bed and handed him the notebook. He tilted his head and then shook it. "I want you to read it. Not I read it to you."

With a groan and scowl from your mouth, not noticing your ears flushing in embarrassment from reading something so personal aloud to someone it probably didn't even matter to. "The girl began to draw," You started, clearing your throat. "Between books, instruments and art, drawing seemed the best way for her to create people. But it wasn't that easy: she grew bored and gave up countless times. But that was fine because with each passing season, the girl grew bored with being bored. So finally, the girl began to learn how to draw. She found she was good at realistic things: things like landscapes. It was probably because all she had to do was recreate what was already in front of her. It was so much harder to draw things she had never seen before like people."

"One day, the girl tried lighting a fire on the beach. She had read a book about a castaway who had built a signal fire on the shore. A white column of smoke rose to the sky. Wondering if it was a cloud, she stuck her face in and burned her eyes and throat. She ran away and watched it from afar. She then realized that fire would be useless to her. Little by little, she began to understand her world and she understand what it meant to understand."

You let the notebook fall to the bed as you finished, glancing up at Antonio expectantly so that he would finally skedaddle and get out of your house. He seemed to think over something again and you stood up, grabbing your backpack instead. "What is it?" You interrogated, looking over his posture. The brunet scratched the back of his neck, leaning back. You looked over the crinkle of his fuβball jersey and convinced yourself you weren't looking over his physique. "I was just thinking," you held back a snort of disapproval, feeling all the more reason to just angrily kick him out of your house. This was way too much physical contact with someone for one day of your life; it was the most you had ever talked to someone since the day of the accident where your guardians decided they had never had an only child named [first and last name] to take care of. "Why doesn't the girl try and draw people? Maybe she won't feel so lonely?"

You ignored most of the criticism, walking off and hoping that Antonio would finally get the hint that you were sick of his presence. Wandering into the bathroom across the hall, you emptied the backpack of its contents and stuck the cloth bag under the sink to get properly washed. You did not feel like dedicating an entire washer load to it and you certainly didn't want to shove it in with your school uniform. "She could never learn how to draw people," You finally answered, glancing at the sullen Spaniard from across the hall. "Now, I do believe you've overstayed your welcome. So, would you kindly leave my house now?"

There was no feeling of sadness or discontent as your school companion wandered out of your room and down the steps. You convinced yourself that you didn't feel sorry for kicking him out so early. When he grabbed his own backpack and went to open the door, you coughed before you found the voice to speak with. "T-Thank you for breakfast a-and the company though…" You carpet had suddenly become very interesting to look at. "It's no problem, [first name]." You heard him say, a smile in his voice. Looking up for a split second, you saw him wave. "Maybe some time after school on Monday, you could ask your parents if you'd come over my house. I want my mother to meet the wonderful person who saved Fleece."

You didn't have a time to call him out for calling you 'wonderful'. You only stood in your doorway as you watched his figure vanish in the distance. You felt as though something was stuck in your throat; a large bulge you couldn't get rid of and made you want to drink three gallons of water just to make sure it was gone for good. With a clammy palm, you shut the door quietly behind you. You suddenly missed looking over at the couch in the corner and seeing the Spaniard, though you couldn't inquire as to why. It had been a long time since you felt something like this. Deciding it would be best just to forget all of this, you went back to your backpack upstairs.

Somewhere on a calendar that hung on your wall that had been blank for so many years of never being used, dating back all the way to when you were a child, you flipped it to October and circled 'Monday' in bright green marker.

* * *

**(A/N: Now isn't that just the darn-dest thing? O uO Sorry it took me so long with this one guys! I've decided to never chastise someone over never updating over the summer again Q AQ. I tried to over compensate that by the length of this chapter… I don't know if I rambled on too much but, you youTurtlehoffmann2251 for the name 'Fleece'. I felt as though the consistency of the sheep thing worked for the story xD I tried not to make anyone feel left out so I did include all of the name you and Antonio came up with on a legal pad O uO It's hanging on my corkboard somewhere… I know I also mentioned dit would end a week from that chapter being posted… that obviously didn't happen. –sighs-**

**Anyhow! Send me a PM of the one-shot you would like and I'll get started on it right away, turtlehoffman2251!**

**Also: I would like to mention that, while I have Word 2007- most of these are un-beta'd and with have AutCorrect issues. Such as 'pi' turning into 'pie'. I'm sorry if that bothered someone.**

**I hope you all are having a wonderful summer, as always! If you have anything you would like to see in the story, leave in a suggestion with a review. Reviews make me happy as England holding a séance in America's house just in spite of him xD )**


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